The Engagement
by yugifrozenfan
Summary: Modern AU. Non-related Elsa & Anna fic. Elsa wants to propose marriage to Anna on Christmas Eve but a misunderstanding causes the plan to be derailed as the two eventually discover that marriage isn't about love, it's also about loyalty & honesty.


**AN: Here's my contribution to the Frozen Holiday fics. It's a non-related Elsanna fic in which Elsa wants to propose to her girlfriend Anna on Christmas Eve but a misunderstanding may cause those plans to falter. Again, Frozen is owned by Disney (owning the movie & merch don't count)**

Elsa scurred around the apartment, trying to prepare it for Christmas Eve, which was a couple days away. The reason she was excited? If she played her cards right, she was going to be an engaged woman which is something worth getting excited about. As she was decorating their tree, she remembered when she had asked Anna to move in with her, fittingly on Christmas Eve, no less. They have been dating for a couple years and she had told her that she wanted to take their relationship to the next level, extending the offer to move in with her. Anna accepted the offer and had moved in almost immediately, spending Christmas with Elsa in the process. Asking Anna to marry her on Christmas Eve would be fitting as well.

Checking the clock, she theorized that since it was 4:30pm, Anna would be getting off work. Hiding the ring box and her favorite blue dress as to not tip off Anna about what she wanted to do, Elsa proceeded out to the balcony to watch Anna's car pull in. Only one problem: Anna's car was there & her car keys were next to Elsa's car keys as well & said car was parked next to hers which was rather unusual as Anna could not have walked to work as it was 2 blocks from their apartment. Suddenly, an unfamiliar car pulled up, giving Elsa not enough time to ponder as Anna got out of the shotgun side and the driver got out of the driver's side. Elsa smiled at her girlfriend, that is, until the driver KISSED Anna full on the mouth and from the looks of it, it looked like Anna was WELCOMING the kiss instead of fighting it off. At that point, something inside her snapped and she left the balcony in a huff of anger. When Anna looked up to the balcony, Elsa had disappeared, angered at Anna's betrayal.

"Honey, I'm home!" Anna called as she came into the apartment, scanning for Elsa. "Elsa? Honey? Sugarplum? Darling? Snowflake? Baby?" Anna rattled off the pet names Elsa responded to the most, hoping to lure her out but nothing was working. "Elsa? I brung home a chocolate turnover for dessert tonight. It's yummy", Anna tried again, using chocolate as an incentive to get Elsa out (one of the beauties of working as a caterer). Nope, even chocolate failed so she decided to search the apartment, checking the bathroom (assuming Elsa was showering) or was taking a nap on the couch. Only problem was that if Elsa was napping, she would have seen her. Suddenly, she had a rather negative thought: Elsa left her. She told herself Elsa would never leave her, considering the two women were best friends before they started dating. Elsa was loyal to a fault so she would never leave Anna, not now, not ever. Knowing that Elsa would hide out in their bedroom whenever she was scared, frightened or angry, she checked there and sure enough, the door was closed and something was blocking it from the inside. Anna put her ear to the door and sure enough, she heard sobbing from the other side. "Elsa", she muttered sadly.

Elsa eventually did come out of their bedroom but hardly acknowledged Anna at all, not even asking her how her day went or what happened outside with the man. She spent most of the time in the kitchen, fixing dinner. She motioned to the chocolate turnover, which needed to be heated up for the dessert, apparently taking Anna's offer up on having the chocolate turnover for dessert. Dinner itself was a VERY tense & silent affair as no one had much to say as Elsa seemed more concerned with cleaning her plate than talking with Anna. She made every attempt at a conversation but Elsa ignored her at every turn. Their evening routine was even more tense as Jeopardy & Wheel Of Fortune turned into up-manships on the clues & puzzles instead of working together to solve them. After Elsa's shows were finished (one of the things Anna learned about Elsa was she never watched television after 10:00pm), she began her getting-ready-for-bed routine while Anna was still watching TV and, of course, to seal the door to their bedroom again so Anna couldn't get in. Anna didn't know it but she would be sleeping on the couch tonight as a punishment, and possibly, the day after, depending on if Elsa would let up tomorrow.

Elsa had sealed the inside of their bedroom door with her deskchair, which was strong enough to withstand any force. She only slept in the buff with Anna in the room and since Anna was sleeping on the couch, she saw no need to. Throwing her nightgown on, she wondered that if she was blowing this out of porportion and that an apology was in order but her mind outweighed her conscience, saying that like her father before Anna, she deserved this treatment.

"Elsa?" Anna asked, jiggling the doorknob

"Go away, Anna!" Elsa's voice, dripping with anger, flooded out of the doorframe

"Elsa, please, sugarplum, I can explain", Anna tried again but Elsa would not be reasoned with.

"The couch, Anna. I'll see you in the morning", Elsa remained firm in her decision and thus, a sad Anna departed for the couch.

As Elsa slept in the bed, she tossed and turned without her beloved's soft body and again, wondered if she was blowing this out of porportion. Never did it cross her mind that Anna could have been bisexual but nope, Anna told her she was gay through & through. Anna was wondering the same thing on the couch, asking herself why Elsa was taking this so personally, like Anna was cheating on her with this man, whom she hardly knew. She wondered if there was something in Elsa's past that was making her act like this, being aware that Elsa never talked about her past, always changing the subject if Anna brung it up. Back in the bedroom, Elsa shot up in realization that every move she was making was one step closer to losing her engagement, her dream wedding and most importantly, Anna. Almost in a trance, she picked up a photo of the two of them on their nightstand and hugged it close. "What have I done?" she asked herself sadly.

Elsa couldn't take it any longer and thus moved the chair away from the door, proceeding to throw it open and rush to the living room and found a sleeping Anna still on the couch. Scooping her up bridal style, she carried her back into their bedroom and showered her with kisses, which woke Anna up.

"Whazgoingon?" a groggy Anna asked while Elsa's lips were trying to find the next open spot on Anna's face to kiss

"I'm sorry for overreacting about what happened this afternoon, darling", Elsa said between kisses & removing her nightgown. Anna smiled and began to strip off her own clothes before tackling Elsa downward onto the bed in a heated kiss, happy to have her girlfriend back however, Anna needed to do damage control about what happened on the lawn outside their apartment and Elsa would need to explain to Anna the circumstances of what led to her overeaction. Anna straddled Elsa and looked at her seductively.

"You're forgiven", she said before falling asleep on top of her.

Christmas Eve was tomorrow and while she was in the voice over booth, Elsa thought over ways of things she could do with Anna that would lead into her propsal to Anna but, before that part could commence as usual, damage control needed to be done. She still felt bad about how she treated Anna without getting the whole story first and wanted to make it up to her in the most romantic way possible. When she wrapped up her recordings, Elsa returned home and began to plan, plan and plan some more before deciding a candlelight dinner would be enough. All afternoon she cooked, cleaned and made the required preparations for the dinner. When Anna came home, it was ready.

"Elsa, this is magificent", Anna said in amazement as she set, more like, dropped her bag down.

"Anna, what's the matter?" Elsa asked with concern.

"You're so pretty in the candlelight", Anna drooled. Elsa blushed a mad shade of scarlet and it was a fact. The candles brung out Elsa's beauty further than the dresses she wore, even more than what she had on but they put it to the side as they sat down. Anna had the urge to ask, "What is the meaning of this?"

"Think of this as an apology for how I acted yesterday", Elsa said sincerely. While there was no doubt Elsa was sincere, Anna still felt a twinge of doubt even though she had forgiven Elsa last night because Elsa had a tendency to plan elaborate things as an apology for a minor thing she did even though it was made clear to her that Anna held no ill will towards her for her behavior. Again, was this connected to some crucial moment in her past or some complex she had? Elsa had a lot of answers to Anna's questions and if they were going to be married, they needed to be more open with one another. Anna was open to Elsa when they started dating but Elsa always seemed reluctant to talk about what happened in her past. Nevertheless, Anna took the candlelight dinner gesture with heart, which showed that Elsa was legitmately sorry for her previous behavior.

Later when they sat down on the couch, Elsa asked Anna about what happened yesterday out on the lawn. Anna gulped, wondering how she could put this into words and as an added bonus, how Elsa would react. Elsa didn't push for an answer but still she was itching to know what REALLY went on out on the lawn. Anna sighed and began her tale, knowing this could make or break their friendship or engagement.

"Hans is a fellow workmate with a habit of pursuing women, regardless of their orientation. This is how he operates: he starts off slow and flirty, turning his charm on and asks them for their address. To cement his memory, he then drives over to their house to pick them up for work and then take them home and I was his latest catch-of-the-day. He didn't believe me when I told him I was 'out' and in a relationship, insisting I was using an excuse not to enter into some kind of relationship with him. He then preformed his usual tricks and I wound up having to give him our address just to get him off my back but he didn't stop, he won't leave me alone. Every morning, he picked me up for work and took me home. In case you were wondering, this was going on for about a year", Anna looked at Elsa with sad eyes, ashamed that she didn't go to her or the police when it became apparent that Hans wasn't going to stop in his pursuit of her. Elsa's mouth dropped open because this basically translated to stalking which, in their neighborhood or any neighborhood in that matter, was a HIGHLY criminal offense.

"Anna, I'm not mad or anything but you should have told me this was happening. I could have helped you through all this", Elsa said, snuggling closer to Anna.

"Only problem was that Hans usually showed up in the morning at 7:30am before our shift started at 8:00am. You're not usually up until 9:00am and I didn't want to trouble you", Anna admitted

"Anna, marriage is about building trust and honesty. Now, you didn't come to me right away when it became apparent he wasn't going to stop but you're being honest with what you're telling me because I was awoken by a car pulling up at 7:30am. Answer me this question: Has Hans ever came to the door?" Elsa looked at Anna curiously because one time, as she related to Anna, she was awoken by a knock on the door and when she peeked through the peephole, there was a man standing outside, asking for an Anna Summers. Anna quickly shook her head.

"No, that was just a package delivery person doing his job. Hans is too smart for that because all the girls' parents have filed numerous arrest warrants on him. Anyway, continuing his belief that I was not gay and was just using it as an excuse, he decided to up his game a bit by KISSING me in front of whatever partner I was with. He hoped the disguist would incite you to leave me, he said so himself. I told him that I would never date someone like him even if I was straight and he gave me a smug smirk and said that we'll see about that. He timed it so we pulled in when you came out to the balcony to watch us come in. I got out first, like you saw and then Hans got out. He then pegged me a good one, I tried to fight him off but he wouldn't stop. When I looked at the balcony, you had gone so when I came up, I thought his grand scheme worked", Anna finished her story and Elsa slowly realized that she was wrong the whole time because from what she saw on the balcony, it looked like she was kissing Hans willingly but thinking back on it, she recalled she DID see Anna struggle for a brief second before Hans went in for seconds but her mind got the best of her conscience and she left in her anger at the perceived betrayal, only thinking of her father's betrayal. Anna snuggled Elsa closer and reassured her she would remain faithful when she put that ring on her finger by saying that her heart only beats for Elsa Frost and Elsa Frost only.

"I'm sorry, Anna. I should have gotten the whole story from you before making assumptions about you double-dipping behind my back. I assure you I will never shut you out, EVER. The only thing I was thinking of was my father during that time", Elsa admitted with tears in her eyes.

"Can I ask why?" Anna asked with hestiation, knowing that she was about to get into Elsa's head with that one question. Elsa heaved a big sigh because this was a BIG part of the test before the engagement & marriage as they needed to be open with each other in marriage and with Elsa wanting to end Christmas Eve with a ring on Anna's finger, this would be a big part of it as she needed to let Anna into her past and mindset. Finally, she conceded and turned to Anna.

"I needed to have been more open with you about my past and my mindset of things from the start but like you & Hans, I didn't want to burden you with them. My strong mindset of loyalty and honesty unintentionally came from my father. After I was born, he started seeing another woman behind my mother's back but when she found out, she told my father she was disappointed in his actions because he made a commitment to stay loyal to her. She was about to divorce him in an instant but he said he regretted it and begged for a second chance which she gave but he continued his trysts with that same woman, eventually having another kid with her. He kept this secret from both me and my mother for a good while until my mother started being paranoid again. She prepared a candlelight dinner for two as a test of his loyalty and sincerity of his earlier apology. He showed up and again claimed he was sorry and was to blame but Mom knew he wasn't sincere. He was served with a divorce notice immediately after the dinner which he was happy about, claiming that my mother was just a 'piece of ass' he married just for the heck of it, finally showing his true colors to us. Mom got custody of me and Dad, well, I cut ties with him after the divorce. I shut him out like I did you briefly in the misunderstanding with Hans. That left me with a very strong sense of loyalty in making a commitment to remain faithful to your companion. That's why I assumed you went behind my back because the kiss brung back a memory when my father did the same thing with that woman after a tryst, openingly kissing her. I thought you betrayed me like my father did when what I really needed was to hear the whole story from you first", Elsa admitted with a sniffle. Anna remained shock silent at what she just heard. It was bad enough Elsa had a tough childhood from what she was told and saw but to have a father was an adulterer who willingly cheated and pretended to regret it just to appease his family made her deserve nothing but sympathy. Anna held no sympathy for the father but had plenty of sympathy for her best friend, now girlfriend. She remembered when they made a pact when they started dating. They had just made love and Anna had asked what this meant for their friendship now, having seen a movie that asked that question. Elsa answered that it meant they're now together and made a vow to remain loyal to each other, which they honored and kept for the most part. Elsa also admitted that while the candlelight dinner was indeed an apology, it was also a test to see if Anna forgave her for drawing the wrong conclusions about the incident on the lawn outside the apartment. Anna said that she did and was puzzled by it to which Elsa admitted that it was a little overdone. The two then retired to their bedroom for some much-needed sleep, their love stronger than ever.

Christmas Eve rolled around and Anna's work had to cater a major Christmas event. Anna had reported Hans to the catering manager about his actions towards her & several of the other women staffers and the manager suspended him indefinitly with a possible transfer to a different part of the business when he returned. Elsa, who had no job inquiries in regards to her voice acting, planned the night that would lead to the question being popped. When Anna returned home, Elsa whisked her away to a romantic dinner for two, ice skating (which Anna royalty sucked at), capping it off with a movie. Finally, when they returned, Elsa told Anna to wait for her in their bedroom which Anna took to mean a steamy love session was in order but it wasn't because when Elsa came out, she had on her blue dress and she was holding something. Anna was too focused on Elsa to even notice the box in her hand.

"Elsa, you look nice. What's the occasion?" Anna asked. She had a good reason to ask because Elsa usually didn't dress fancy unless there was a special occasion involved, unlike the Candlelight dinner. It wasn't until Elsa drew the box forward that Anna realized that almost everything led up to that one box because usually a box contains a ring and with a ring comes a proposal. Elsa opened the box, offering her the ring.

"Anna, my darling, will you have the pleasure of becoming Mrs. Anna Frost?" Elsa solemnly asked. Anna looked like she was about to wet herself in surprise before she finally found her tongue.

"Elsa, I, I don't know what to say. I just", she paused for a second, wondering if she had upset Elsa but when she saw she hadn't, she continued. "You had these feelings for me all this time?" she inquired. Elsa nodded.

"I knew you were the one when we saw each other in the park that time. It was love at first sight and we became friends when you approached me. I had been trying to say 'I love you' for a long time but I held it off but it wasn't until we got to high school and when I saw that blonde kid who was hitting on you every chance he got, it's like he was taunting me and I knew I couldn't hold back anymore. I love you, Anna and I want to put this ring on your finger and spend the rest of my life with you", Elsa's mini-speech was so eloquent that Anna was moved to tears upon hearing it, realizing that her best friend had been harboring those feelings for so long in her for Anna, the one person who ever approached her in that park.

"If that's the case, than I will become Mrs. Anna Frost", Anna said happily. She held out her hand but no ring was on her finger.

"Is that a yes?" Elsa teasingly asked.

"Maybe this will answer it", Anna immediately pegged Elsa's lips and Elsa proceeded to ring Anna's finger, showing everyone who Anna belonged to. Elsa then switched their positions so now she straddled Anna.

"Where do you wish to get married?" she asked.

"Now that you mentioned it, maybe the park where we met", Anna answered. Elsa kissed her.

"Good idea, Anna. Good idea"

**AN: Pending on the reception to this fic, I might write a sequel story called "The Wedding" (notice how I called this one "The Engagement"). Any hoo, R&R & if there is a sequel, I'll put it out after the holidays.**


End file.
